Parents find daughter dead after choking on leftover steak

Fionuala Campbell will never get over the horrifying moment she discovered her daughter’s lifeless body “slumped” over the kitchen sink after choking to death on a piece of leftover steak.

The heartbroken mother woke up to her husband’s screams about 4am on Saturday September 7, after he discovered their 29-year-old daughter Sherry Campbell dead in their kitchen.

Sherry, a teaching assistant in Carrowdore, Northern Ireland, had choked to death, while snacking on a piece of steak from the meal she prepared for her family that evening.

“Our beautiful girl was standing against the sink, her upper body slumped over it. As Shannon tried to help her, I ran to our neighbour to get help, hoping that she’d be okay,” the devastated mother told The Mirror.

“I just couldn’t believe she could be dead if she was still standing. But she was lifeless, our girl was gone and nothing could be done to bring her back to us.”

Sherry with her father, Shannon, who discovered her in the kitchen. Image: Facebook.

Fionuala said the two parents laid on the floor with their beloved daughter, placed a blanket on her and stroked her face as they wept while “our world collapsed”.

The couple also saw a tiny bulge and knew she must have choked. This was later confirmed by a post-mortem examination.

“A quick snack before she went to bed ended everything. The accident was so simple, so devastating and now we know, very much avoidable,” Fionuala said.

“I can still hear the awful sound of Shannon screaming for me after he found Sherry in the kitchen,” she added.

The couple paid tribute to their ‘foodie’ daughter by burying her with her favourite recipes and letters from friends.

Sherry's family and friends have now set up The Sherry Campbell Foundation to provide effective training to groups to help people learn what to do when they're choking alone or see someone else choking.

Talking about the initiative, Sherry's devastated mother said, “Although I can’t bear the thought of life without her, Sherry’s death will help to save lives and I can’t think of a more fitting legacy."